ISIS continues to dominate the news headlines, from this week’s cover of Time magazine to the brutal images we see nearly every week on the national news. The closer we feel to the victims, the more personal our grief and the more urgently we want to respond.

If you are Japanese, the beheading of journalist Kenji Goto must have horrified you. If you are Catholic, the kidnapping of Iraqi nuns and orphans must have been awful to imagine. If you are a Shiite Muslim, the destruction of mosques and mass murder of your Shiite brothers and sisters must deeply wound your soul. If you are a woman, the kidnapping, torture, enslavement and rape of young women must break your hearts. And if you’re a Christian, the grisly scene of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians being beheaded on a Libya beach last month must have brought a desperate cry of prayer to your lips.

How should we respond to ISIS? Perhaps God will lead each of us to respond in our own authentic and creative way. Angelina Jolie has responded by posting video interviews with the victims to increase global awareness. Various NGOs and charities are stepping up the relief effort, and you can donate through them—check out these three:

The Pope’s response last week was to pray for the victims. But here’s an even more extreme response—check out this 8 minute video posted by an Egyptian evangelical church—their response is to pray for ISIS! The pastor states, “Satan is our enemy, not ISIS.” You’ll see the actual family members of the Coptic Christians who died talk about forgiveness and praying for ISIS soldiers to see the light. Now THAT’S a response that Jesus would be proud of! Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/ElTWcbCrY7g

The 21 Egyptians were true martyrs in the Christian tradition—they died for their faith; unlike other traditions where a martyr could be one who dies while killing others for their faith. They inspire us to follow the Bible’s teaching from Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

For those Muslims reading this post who find that an attractive alternative to vengeance, guess what? The Qur’an offers similar guidance in Surah Fussilat 41:34 “And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend.” Repel evil with good? Win your enemy to become your friend? Yes, there are many Muslims who abhor how ISIS interprets the Qur’an, because like any religion, individuals choose what verses to base their lives on. Thank God for all those of every religion who choose peace and forgiveness.

For me personally, as an author, you’ll read my response to ISIS in the sequel to my first novel. This week I finished the first half of the first draft. I appreciate your prayers that this book will present a response to ISIS that both glorifies God and makes a difference in how we face this formidable issue.

I’d love to hear YOUR response to ISIS! Tell me what authentic and creative response God is partnering with you to do!

Tonight we begin another fasting month of Ramadan, when we will join our Muslim friends and neighbors in not eating or drinking during the daylight hours. As much as my body hates fasting, my spirit knows that my body needs to be reminded who is really in charge here. Or as my former mentor, Lou Engle, used to say, I need to set aside lesser affections for the greater hunger of my soul for God alone.

This dichotomy of flesh vs. spirit vying for preeminence is also found in my prayer life. Passing through each day, my flesh and my spirit have different agendas—one is willing to carve out a small niche for prayer, the other craves a 24/7 experience of communion with God.

This month I greatly enjoyed reading River Jordan’s book, Praying for Strangers: An Adventure of the Human Spirit. The author sent both her sons off to war one January, and in her anxiety and helplessness, felt God draw her into an unusual new year’s resolution: to pray for one stranger every day for a year. Sometimes she prayed silently as she passed by, but many times she stopped and told the stranger that she would be praying for him/her, and was so blessed at the responses she received. Every time it was hard to take a risk, but she never regretted telling people she would pray for them. She ended the year feeling more blessed than probably any one of the people she met.

One reason I love this book is because I’ve found a kindred spirit. I, too, have a habit of praying for strangers everywhere I go. But I rarely approach a stranger and tell them I’m praying. This part of Jordan’s story challenged me. Sometimes a prayer may be enough, but sometimes the encouraging word and smile of a person who is praying may make a greater impact. I hope to overcome my fears and be willing to talk to these people my heart is already praying for.

I’d like to end by quoting a couple paragraphs from River Jordan’s book (p.213):

On some days I pray for more than one person. Because I can. Because I want to. Because my heart has been softened by the year of connecting with the world around me. Just the other day I passed a man on his riding lawn mower wearing a white hat. He smiled and waved and I waved back, and in that moment, special stranger of the day status or not, it was my automatic response to wish blessings on his life and say a quick prayer for his health and happiness. And the rest of my day continued that way. A cashier, the woman at the insurance company, the librarian—I prayed for them all.

Then I began to wonder: Could it be possible for us to move through our day on a wave of prayer, receiving and giving, offering silent words, thoughts, good intent to the people that we meet along the way? Could our cities have undercurrents of prayer that course through the business of our lives? Would there be a tangible feeling, a current that pulls at us, whispering for us to remember we are part of a larger, vast ocean teeming with life and stories? If I can begin to live this way for a moment, for part of a day, for a week at a time, then yes, I can imagine a place where people find a common ground of timelessness and understanding and goodwill. And I like that.

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